Of Their Very Own
by ForeverErica
Summary: During/Post "The End" 6x18 – In the Afterlife, Kate has news for Jack about the son he thought he never had. THREE PARTS TOTAL!
1. Chapter 1

**Title****:** Of Their Very Own

**Author****:** Forever_Erica

**Characters****:** Jack, Kate, David

**Summary****: **During/Post "The End" [6x18] – In the Afterlife, Kate has news for Jack. THREE PARTS TOTAL.

**Author's Note****:** I hope that this story doesn't stretch the canon of the show too much. With Lost, and with them all being dead and creators of their own Purgatory in the end, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE damnit! :)

**Disclaimer****: **I own nothing, although JATE is still on my Christmas list, after six years!

She lied in bed, her belly swollen with nine months of pregnancy, and she felt like she was about to explode. Her ankles were swollen, her lower back was killing her and she'd barely left the comfort of her bed all day, much to her satisfaction.

She got off of that plane, bid farewell to her friends and faced the consequences of breaking the conditions of her plea bargain. She was pardoned on the fact that she did no harm by leaving, and most importantly, that she turned herself in.

She decided to stay in the same house she called home all that time ago, when she was a mother, not to her own child, but to Aaron. Aside from watching Aaron grow up, she remembered all the time she'd spent with _him _among those walls, in this very bed she laid in. Talking. Making love. Living the happiest existence she'd ever known.

Soon after settling back in, the frequent trips to the bathroom to vomit once she woke up every morning told her that she was pregnant. She didn't need to take a test, because she felt it, but to her own assurance, she took one, staring at the positive results with both joyful and sorrowful tears in her eyes.

_Jack_. She thought of him all too often. His smile, wide, yet soft, mellow. His laugh, manly, yet sweet, boyish. His eyes, that looked at her so often with sadness, grief, love, passion, frustration, and relief, haunted her, the last time she looked through the dark orbs, she'd told him she loved him, and he'd said the same, so heartrendingly before he limped away, married to his Destiny no matter what, while she would have given anything in the world to have persuaded him to come with her.

He was gone, and it broke her heart anew every single day she allowed herself to think about him. Being pregnant with his child was the only solace she found amid the sadness. She went over to his condo often and slept there for the night, needing so badly to be near his things, what he surrounded himself with, to smell him on the sheets, the pillowcases. She eventually packed up every stitch of clothing he owned and brought them back to where they belonged.

Dreams filled her mind constantly; the most recurring was of her lying in bed on her back, reading a book while his arm wrapped around her waist, his lips tickling the skin of her extended belly as he talked to their baby, about anything and everything. Just the sound of his voice got the baby jostling so frantically that she would become uncomfortable after awhile, tapping his shoulder as a signal for him to end the evening tradition by telling the baby something so secretive, that he would whisper extra carefully so she wouldn't hear, and punctuated the goodbye with a kiss, then placing an open-mouthed one on her lips before pulling her into his arms as he fell asleep.

She would never have that, she would never see the look of awe on his face as he felt the baby kick for the first time, or the burst of joy in his eyes while watching the life they created together wave to them on the screen of the ultrasound. She would never see him read some fanciful tall-tale to _their_ child while she watched quietly from the door. She would never see what a terrific, wonderful father he would be, because with everything that she was, she truly believed it when she said, so long ago, "_You're good at this_".

Eventually, after having to give Claire another pep-talk about her abilities as a mother, Kate took her to Aaron. Claire decided to move into Kate's home, allowing Aaron to stay in the home he'd grown up in. They eased into a pattern that wouldn't confuse the child's already fragile state. Although he still called on Kate as his mother, eventually, he made the switch to understanding that this new woman, with his blond hair and blue eyes, was indeed his mother. The first time he called her _Mommy_, both she and Kate cried together, the gravity of Aaron's transition setting in so perfectly.

As Kate lied there, in Jack's Columbia sweatshirt and lounge pants, finally resting her mind enough to find sleep, she felt this piercing jolt in her groin. She sat up, wincing in pain. Then she felt something wet on the sheets beneath her. Her water broke, and soon, another spasm hit, causing her to cry out.

"Claire!" Kate screamed, rubbing her stomach as if that would lessen the discomfort, moving her feet off of the bed to the floor, trying to stand on her own, but finding it impossible to do so. Claire was by her side before she'd even heard her enter the room.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked.

"It's time" Kate said, breathing heavily through gritted teeth.

Two hours later, he arrived. Nine pounds and ten ounces of pure perfection. A thick head of brown, wavy hair, cheeks sprinkled with freckles, and as chubby and healthy as any baby she'd ever seen. Once she heard his garbled cries for the first time, she broke down into happy, elated tears as Claire held her hand, soothing her, chanting, "_He's so perfect, Kate._"

Once he was cleaned and prepped with a blue blanket wrapped around him, the doctor handed him to Kate, her tears all the more splendid as he opened his eyes, and extended his small hand to her face and touched her cheek, already displaying an intuitiveness about his mother that was so spectacular, the entire birthing suite staff watched in awe at the exchange.

"What are you going to name him?" Claire asked.

Kate could only think of one name, she wasn't sure why, but he had to have this name.

"_David_. His name is David Shephard."

She would protect this perfect little person with her life, just as Jack protected her with his.

_**Up Next: PART 2 of 3!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks for the kind reviews! I hope Part Two doesn't stretch the canon of the show too far! I feel like with what was given by the writers, this scenario is indeed possible! ENJOY!**_

Kate stared proudly at Claire, Charlie and Aaron, completely captivated by their moment of remembrance, of family. It made her ache so much for her own.

She turned to Desmond, relieved, yet solemn tears in her eyes.

"Do you understand now?" Desmond asked.

She nodded sadly, yet knowingly, completely aware of where she would end up, but unsure of how she would get there.

"So what now?" she asked.

"Now, you say goodbye to your son" Desmond said with a sad, yet knowing grin.

"My son? How did you know…?" Kate began, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"He's here Kate. He's out there. Table 23. You were sitting with him this whole time" Desmond said.

"I don't understand." Kate said, anger rising in her tone.

"He's here because Jack brought him here" Desmond said.

"What? Jack didn't know that I was pregnant. There's no way that David can be here" Kate said.

"You still don't understand, Kate. Jack knew about David. His peace in this place was threaded together because of the son that you two created together. Jack needed David just as much as you did." Desmond explained.

"So, you're telling me that Jack raised David too? We raised him…together, but not together?" Kate asked, still confused.

"Yes. Exactly. The David that you gave birth to and the David sitting out there at that table are no different. They're the same person completely, but this David, who's here, is being held onto by Jack, because he doesn't know what this place is yet. He needed to raise him, know him and spend time with him before he could move on, before he would be ready to leave" Desmond explained.

"Is he dead too?" Kate asked frantically, not being able to take the news that their son was dead, even if she was.

"No. He's the only one here who isn't. Some people here are apparitions of what our minds and hearts can't let go of just yet, and once the dead cross, those who stay behind, those who are still alive, are able to grieve less and less. David is just waiting, not to leave, but to be let go of. You have to let him go, Kate. You have to say goodbye, for yourself and for Jack" Desmond urged.

"What about Jack? If I let David go, Jack won't be able to say goodbye" Kate asked.

"No, he can't. If Jack were to see David before you help him remember, he'll never want to leave, he'll resist the inevitable even more than I predict he will anyways. So you have to go out there and let David go, before Jack arrives" he said.

"I can't do that to Jack. What is he going to think when our son is there one minute and gone the next?" she asked, truly conflicted by what Desmond was asking her to do.

"You and Jack taught David everything that he would ever need in order to survive both of your deaths. You _do_ want Jack to come with you, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes, of course I do" she said, the chance to live an eternity with Jack after a life without him too enticing to pass up.

"We all had to let go of people we love. David will be okay. He got to know both of you, in different ways and separately, but when he walks away from this concert, he'll know that both his parents love him, because he lived it, and he felt it, from you both, every day of his life" he said.

She moved from backstage, with Desmond behind her and simply watched him. There he was. David. He simply sat there as people started to disperse from and mingle around their tables, the concert having ended awhile ago.

She approached him tentatively; completely awestruck by how Jack's rendition of their child was so perfect, so spot-on. She held back the tears that were threatening to fall when he finally felt her presence, and stood nervously, as if expecting bad news.

"My aunt Claire…is she okay?" David asked, watching as this mystery woman who knew his aunt about as well as he did bore holes into his face, with a small, sad smile on her lips.

"Erm…she's fine. She had her baby, a boy. She's on her way to the hospital" Kate said, the words all too appropriate as she stood in front of her own son, so grown-up, with his suit and tie, and a little shadow of facial hair on his chin.

He was just as she remembered him to be in his teenage years, anxious and excited to show her what new, complicated Mozart piece he'd perfected for the annual spring recital at the music conservatory, playing to his heart's content, and to her pride and pleasure. A man stood in front of her, molded by his father's influence, and presence. She was so happy that their son got to know and spend time with Jack that she was a beat away from breaking down.

"Wow, that's awesome" he said, creating a smile that was so much like his father that she physically shook from the nostalgia.

"Are you okay?" he asked, moving closer to her.

"I'm fine. Are you waiting here for your dad?" she asked.

"Yeah" he responded with this big grin, his icy blue eyes now twinkled. "He had some important surgery, but he said he would meet up with me later. I called the hospital, but they told me he just finished."

"Yeah, I think it might be awhile before he gets here" she said.

"Yeah, well, I guess I'm on my own then" he said, looking towards the crowd of people who finally started to disperse.

"Do you have a way home? Do you need me to take you?" Kate offered immediately. She didn't even have a car at her disposal, but was awfully nervous about him taking a cab or going anywhere all by himself.

"No, I'm okay. I got it" he said confidently.

"Don't tell me you're driving already" she teased, delighted by yet another one of his boyish smiles.

"Not yet, my mom is trying to hold that off for a little while longer, but Dad is trying to help me wear her down" he said.

"Well, Jack has always been pretty hard to resist" she said with a smile.

"How do you know my dad's name?" he asked, somewhat startled that he wasn't too shocked that this woman knew his father somehow. He too felt an undeniable connection from the moment she approached him.

"Umm…Claire…she told me that she would call him while on her way to the hospital" she lied.

"I don't know your name" he said with a light laugh, as he extended his hand in her direction.

As soon as he said it, Kate flashed to the moment with Jack by the fireside on the Island, having felt such a strong connection to him that she forgot to introduce herself.

"I'm Kate" she said, taking his hand.

At the contact, they both felt a rush of mystical warmth, vision blinded by the stinging intensity of bright lights, as if they were falling into a pit of stars, with no end in sight. It felt like it lasted forever, but only occurred for mere seconds.

He pulled his hand away, shaking. When he opened his eyes, he saw something different, as if he knew her somehow, but couldn't place where or when. Then a look of fluid recognition flooded his face, his eyes glued on the woman in front of him. _His mother_.

"Mom?" he asked, his voice cracked.

Kate nodded, tears in her eyes. He smiled happily and pulled her into a hug. He didn't know how, but he knew what was happening as he started to sob in her embrace. They were going to leave, because they were both dead and he wasn't. He also knew that he had to go before his dad arrived. This was goodbye.

"It's okay, baby. I got you" she cried.

"I'll miss you and Dad so much" he sobbed as she wrapped her arms around him, comforting him with every fiber of strength she had left.

"We're going to miss you too, baby, oh so much" she sobbed, holding him so tightly she was afraid that she might break him, but that fear was overcast by the incredible bout of love and pride that washed over her. He broke down even more in her arms, steadied by her unrelenting grip.

She pulled back to get a look at his face, tears strewn down his freckled cheeks. She wiped them away with her thumbs and kissed his forehead. Desmond watched solemnly from backstage, the moment so heartbreaking yet pure that it brought a tear to his eye.

"You be good, okay? You live your life. Me and your dad will watch over you and protect you and love you forever and don't you ever forget that" she said, swiping her fingers through his thick dark hair.

He nodded sadly, and then smiled, understanding what gift he'd been given. Kate would always tell him about his father's bravery, how he saved her life, risking his own so that she, _they_, would be able to survive. He was blessed to have been raised by them both, as unconventional and out-of-body as the experience was.

He pulled completely away from her, as agonizingly slow as he possibly could, and backed away, walking off onto the lawn that lay outside of the tented arena, hands in his pockets, now at peace with what had to be done. He looked back one more time at his mother, so beautiful and waved before he vanished into the night air.

Dizzy and disoriented, she fell into a chair, trying to hold back more tears, but simply couldn't find the strength as she shook and heaved with sadness. Once she'd let it all out, she took a nearby cloth napkin and dabbed at each eye. She pulled her hair out of the bun she'd thrown it in, combed her fingers through it and waited for Jack. He would be there any minute, and when he did arrive, she would do anything she had to in order to finally bring him home.

_**Up Next: Part 3 of 3!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing! This was supposed to be a quick one-shot that spiraled out of control, so I had to separate it into three parts, so as not to make it seem ridiculously long. I hope to write more in the future, if time permits! Enjoy Part 3!**_

Jack stood on the steps of the main entrance of the church, conversing with Locke and eventually patting his shoulder, shaking his hand and sending him on his way, while Kate hugged Sun and Jin goodbye nearby.

Once it was just the two of them, Jack looked over to find Kate leaning against his truck, already staring at him with that look she gave him right before she devoured him. He missed that look, so much.

He walked over to her, taking his time as she paid attention to every detail of the way he moved. She missed him so much, not able to suppress her smiles at seeing him again, at being with him again.

He stopped a few inches in front of her, smiling at the look of complete contentment on her face.

"So, here we are" he said.

"Here we are" she said with a wry grin, excitement oozing from her eyes.

"So what now?" he asked, moving into her, placing a hand on the roof of the truck, above her head.

"We go home" she said with a smile, playfully tugging on his tie as it dangled in front of her.

He knew just where home was, as he drove straight there from the church parking-lot. They walked through the front door of the home they shared during the happiest time in both of their lives. As if falling back into an effortless pattern, Kate took off her shoes while Jack slid out of his jacket, hanging it on the nearby coat-rack, and loosened his tie.

They made it to the couch, and sat next to each other. Exhausted from the emotional whirlwind, he sunk back into the soft cushions, and closed his eyes, one arm wrapped snugly around her waist, urging her to join him.

She leaned into his side, laying a hand on his lower chest and her head on his upper chest as she sunk further into his warm, strong embrace. She sighed at the sensation, realizing just how much she missed being this close to him. She mentally prepared what she would say to him about her life once she left the Island, about the child they'd made together, but she just didn't know how to initiate that kind of bombshell. Disturbing the perfect moment not at all what she wanted to do.

"His name was David" Jack said, cracking the silence.

She looked up at him, her eyes soft and mellow as she watched his face, contorted in thought and reflection.

"I held him in my arms seconds after he was born. One minute he was this helpless little person in my arms, and then suddenly he was this 13-year old kid. Smart, independent and very angry with me. I wasn't the best father I could have been for a big part of his life, but he woke me up one night, when he wasn't home when I thought he would be and I realized that my own son was afraid that he would disappoint me, he was scared of failing me" he said, his voice steadily strained by his emotions.

Kate felt his chest tighten as he became agitated and distraught with what their son must have thought of him. She wrapped her arm around his torso, hugging him as she buried herself into his warmth even more.

"I couldn't believe that I'd gone so long without realizing that I almost failed _him_, that he thought I wouldn't love him anymore if he ever failed. I know what that feels like, and it kills me that I inflicted that onto him, that he didn't know how unconditional my love for him really is. I hate it" he said.

She felt the tears fall from her eyes before she could stop them. It finally set in for her, what Desmond was trying to tell her, the reason why Jack needed to raise David. Because he needed to be a father. It was that simple, that beautiful. He needed to sift through the issues of his childhood, of his relationship with his own father, by being allowed to know and love their child. He had to love and be loved in a way that he didn't feel when he was growing up. David was the key, unlocking what Jack desperately needed to let go of, and yet, providing him with the opportunity to prove what a great father he could be.

Their son provided that for her as well, she soon realized. Being a mother was something she craved ever since she held Aaron in her arms as an infant, watching him grow and learn, planting the notion that motherhood was within her capabilities. Raising David was the most rewarding experience of her life, and it shredded any doubt in her mind that she couldn't do what her mother never did for her.

"After we talked things through, we really connected. He let me be his father, so eager to share things with me, as many things as a teenage kid would actually share with his father. We were okay" he said.

He brought a hand to his forehead and rubbed his temples furiously, working to prevent the headache that was surging.

"I just don't understand. Even as I lie here, in a world that can only be considered some type of heaven, I can still feel him, I still love him, even if he wasn't real. How is that possible Kate? How can I possibly be so intensely connected to some figment of my imagination?" he pleaded with her.

She felt the tears well up in her eyes again as he begged of her for an explanation, his eyes so desperate for David to be real. She could tell that he ached with it.

She moved out of his embrace and off of the couch, grabbing all of his attention as he watched her pick up a picture frame from the mantle, holding it close to her chest while she walked back over to him. She sat down on the coffee table, and handed him the photograph.

There he was. The child he knew from birth and thought he'd never see again. The same blue eyes and freckled cheeks, the same head of thick brown hair that he remembered combing awkward cow-licks out of when he was younger. The same kid he took to his first Red Sox game when they came to LA, their first outing together after they'd gotten over their roughest patch ever, and the same kid he loved with everything he had, and yet Kate, the woman he loved more than life itself, knew him too somehow.

He stared at the photo for what felt like an eternity. Shock, awe and then confusion read in his facial features. He looked up at her, lips poised to speak, but she beat him to the punch.

"He's _real_, Jack" she said, taking his hand into hers. "He _**is**_ real, and he's ours."

"You were pregnant?" he asked.

Kate nodded as the happy tears fell freely. His eyes were fixated on the photo again, bedazzled by the face of his son, with Kate. A child of their very own.

"When I first saw you again, at the concert, I asked you if you were looking for someone, and you started rambling about missing him, but I saw him, I touched him, and I was amazed that you got to know him, and love him as much as I do." she said, her voice strained with emotion.

"How did this happen?" he asked, confused and awestruck at the same time, on the verge of an emotional meltdown as his thumb caressed their son's cheek through the photo.

"Desmond said that you needed to raise him, to be close to him, before you could leave. It's all so complicated Jack, but it happened. _We_ needed him, and he needed us. We raised our son and we raised him together, and he's okay. He's perfect. He knows that we love him and will miss him" she said.

He finally took his eyes off the photograph and looked at her. She had the biggest smile, still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen; it literally knocked the wind out of him. He finally let the tears flow down his face, a smile formed on his lips as his laugh echoed through the space. She wrapped him up in a hug, holding onto him as he wept tears of joy and sadness. His hands gripped her, his knuckles white as he held onto every inch of her that he could.

After awhile, she pulled back and cupped his face in her hands, wiping his tears away. His face collapsed in relief. It finally hit him.

"The last thing I saw before I died was your plane, and to know that you got off the Island and to feel your hand in mine when I couldn't have felt more alone, that was more than enough for me, but this…" he said as another tear fell down his cheek. She immediately wiped it away.

"I _love_ you" she said, leaning in for a kiss.

"I love _you_" he said right before his lips met hers.

The kiss went from soft and sweet to hot and urgent as she wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders, taking him in. He fell back onto the couch, taking her with him, his hands on her back and steadily moving lower, their lips still pressed together tightly, opening and tasting. To his dismay, she pulled away with a teasing grin on her face and a mischievous sparkle in her green eyes.

"Wait. There's just one last bone I have to pick with you now that we're stuck with each other for eternity" she teased.

"Yeah? What's that?" he laughed.

"_Juliet_ was your ex-wife and our son's mother?" she asked incredulously, making him laugh.

"What can I say, I hadn't found _you_ yet, but then again, you found _me_" he said, drawing her lips back to his.

They kissed some more, filling the house with voices and laughter as they made plans for this eternity they had to fill. In death, they were content, knowing that they were together finally, and that they left the best of who they were with the world, residing in their son's heart and soul.

**FINIS**


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